New Roads School is a college prep program with a unique focus on social justice and the arts, from which a richly diverse student population develops independent thinking and expanding curiosity.

In one to three sentences, please describe your project proposal.

New Roads, in collaboration with UPTOGOOD.org, will develop and offer classes to introduce students to impact producing, while amplifying these efforts within the LA community at large. We will explore the power of video-based storytelling, social media, and digital marketing for social impact. Students will actively ideate, film, and host social impact campaigns for causes they care about on UPTOGOOD, while working closely with local NGOs and companies looking to make a positive social impact.

How much are you applying for?

$100,000

How will your proposal impact the following CONNECT metrics?

Social & emotional support

Cultural events

Public/open streets gatherings

Government responsiveness to residents’ needs

Rates of volunteerism

Total number of local social media friends and connections Angelenos have

In what areas of Los Angeles will you be directly working?

Westside, County of Los Angeles (please select only if your project has a countywide benefit), City of Los Angeles (please select only if your project has a citywide benefit)

Describe in greater detail how your proposal will make LA the best place to CONNECT?

At New Roads School we regard education as an active and ongoing quest to develop young people who thrive as they begin to take a larger role in making their communities and their world. Our commitment to this quest is manifested in the genuine diversity of our school community. We fully and intentionally reflect the mosaic of cultures, backgrounds, and beliefs that make up Los Angeles in the 21st century. With our open-minded philosophy and approach to creating this type of educational environment, we have developed a welcoming community in the Bergamot Creative Arts District of West Los Angeles. Our community continues to host local events, screenings, talks, protests, etc. Nearly 78 years ago, the Red Line Trolly ran from Los Angeles to Santa Monica Pier. After years of not having strong public access to our neighborhood, we are so grateful for the recent opening of the Expo Line. With this new change, we have been able to expand our community and provide greater opportunities to people from all over Los Angeles. As our community continues to grow, we hope our partnership with UPTOGOOD, will provide even more resources and opportunities.Hosting the UPTOGOOD Film Festival, will create a place for future impact storytellers from all over Los Angeles to partake in our workshops, screenings and networking events. We hope to provide a space where like-minded storytellers can come together and take advantage of what we present. We intend to publicly open the UPTOGOOD Social Impact Studio space on campus, especially providing youth without access to the necessary tools to bring their social impact videos up to a higher level of quality and production. The Metro will provide easy access for students all around Los Angeles. We will be able to further connect students and social impact storytellers with our community members. Pairing like-minded people will only create more positivity for our city and help to develop powerful stories that can be further shared.

We can really amplify the motives of LA2050's initiatives through our program and participants. We bear in mind, that Los Angeles is also an international hub, which brings in social justice figures, filmmakers and change-makers from around the world. In addition to providing a bridge to all communities in Los Angeles, we hope to attract international figures that visit Los Angeles and can provide an even broader, global connection that mimics the efforts we are making on a local-level.

Please explain how you will define and measure success for your project.

New Roads School and UPTOGOOD intend to: 1) Provide the LA community with proper education and tools to empower them to create effective social impact video content.2) Guide storytellers to execute successful social impact campaigns through the UPTOGOOD platform.

We will measure our success by doing the following:1) Monitor the number of students and community members who participate in our classes, workshops and festival 2) Analyze the quality of content and campaigns created using a grading rubric based on various social impact cinema criteria such as: ethos, transparency, etc.3) Measure impact stats on UPTOGOOD campaign page (FUNDit, SIGNit, PROMISEit SHAREit)4) Monitor the number of community members accessing and utilizing the shared UPTOGOOD Social Impact Studio space 5) Monitor UPTOGOOD website traffic 6) Work closely with educators (especially through New Roads) to support the integration of our curriculum into classrooms.7) Monitor partnerships manifested within campaigns with NGOs and other companies8) Analyze the number of internship opportunities created with local NGOs and employers9) Analyze student comfort: Are they going out and creating impact campaigns beyond their initial campaign?10) Monitor the number of student connections to higher learning educational institutions with a focus on impact production11) Continuously reflect on the goals and success rate of the partnership between New Roads School and UPTOGOOD

How can the LA2050 community and other stakeholders help your proposal succeed?